The Dance Direction

Jerilynn Palmer-Globe

Jeri has been teaching dance in Olympia for 25 years. She started dancing at age 11 at Suzie's Dance and competed for many years in the Pacific Northwest, Canada, California, and Nevada. She performed with top competition companies such as Showstoppers, I Love Dance, and Rainbow Connection. She has won many awards and is now able to use that experience to help our students learn the proper techniques. She purchased Suzi's Dance in 1998 and was owner/instructur until she sold the company to Debbi and Jan. Jeri was a Miss Teen Pageant Judge in Seattle and has helped numerous students on technique that are needed to perform their best. She is especially fond of teaching our younger students and they adore her.

Jessi McClendon

Jessi started dancing when she was 13 and taught her first class when she was 14. Since then, she has participated in many training seminars and classes, and she is continually taking classes to improve her abilities. She has won special praise from the parents of her students for her patience and ability to connect with her students. Jessi has competed for many years and she enjoys helping her students become more sure of themselves, she inspires them to become the best that they can be. She spends many hours exacting their choreography and her students have won many awards for their performances, they shine through her efforts.

Stacey Bramley

Stacey is our new ballet teacher and we are thrilled to have her with us. She has been dancing and teaching for many years and has had extensive training, including colleges in California and North Carolina. She has studied under 25 different instructors, including a New York City Rocketter, plus she studied in Hollywood and on Broadway. Stacey was voted the Most Improved Dancer and Most LIkely to become a professional dancer. She has performed in many theatrical productions and is really excited to begin teaching again. She is a huge asset to our studio.

Jason Wickett

Jason teaches our Hip Hop classes. He grew up in Rainier and Yelm, and has hd 9 years of dance experience. He has participated in many competitions in the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, and California. Jason keeps up with all the latest trends and techniques, and is a favorite among our students. He is proficient in "waiving/poppin", footwork, control, house, krump, isolations, and gruve. Jason is especially talented as a choreographer. He is in a competition group from the Seattle area called the PG Boyz, which allows him to be able to consistently bring new moves and keep his students up-to-date.

Ari Wildau

Ari has been dancing since 1995. She has studied jazz, hip-hop, ballet, tango, salsa, break dancing, modern, and choreography with jazz being her primary focus. She was a member of the senior jazz troupe at Motion underground in Boulder, CO for 6 years, where she also taught and directed the level 1-2 jazz troupe. Ari has competed both regionally and nationally. She has studied at the Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School, and University of Colorado jazz dance workshops. She trained in Italy while choreographing the musical performance "Esmeralda". She has been teaching in Olympia since 2007.

Karen Ideker

Karen is our Ballroom teacher and has been dancing for 12 years. Partnering with a professional, she co-instructed in a dance studio for 4 years and has competed in Oregon and Washington. She has taught in Elementary, Jr. High and on cruise lines. Karen has taken classes with "Dancing with the Stars" Tony Dovaloni and Elena Grimenko, Canadian Ballroom Champions Pierre Allaire, and Mireille Veileux, American Ballroom Champions Jean-Marc Generous and France Mousseau, and English Ballroom Champions Michael Mead and Tony Redpath. She has also begun to perform the American Tango for various groups. She teaches with a partner, which gives her the ability to work with both couples and solos. We are amazed at how quick the students get up and going in her classes.